Living Wage Scotland Sees £165 million in Additional Wages for Workers

Posted: 2019-08-28 06:31:47

Today it has been announced that the campaign for a real Living Wage has now given more than £1 billion in extra wages to workers throughout the UK since the campaign began in 2001 at Citizens UK.

In 2011 the Living Wage Foundation was established to campaign for a Living Wage throughout the UK. Since then the campaign has won over £1bn of additional wages and lifted over 200,000 people out of working poverty. In Scotland, the campaign ran by the Poverty Alliance, has seen over 38 000 workers receive a pay rise to the real Living Wage accounting for £165million of the £1bn total.

Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said:

“The Poverty Alliance has been campaigning for a real Living Wage since 2007 and the announcement that over £160million has been put into the pockets of workers is a welcome one. The Living Wage is an important tool in the fight against in-work poverty. We know that the traditional rout out of poverty, work, is not working for too many people in Scotland. I urge employers to go beyond the minimum and pay their workers a wage that reflects the cost of living, a real Living Wage.”

Jack Evans, Living Wage Scotland, said:

“Over the last 5 years Living Wage Scotland have worked with 1000’s of employers on the real Living Wage. We know that low pay can trap workers in poverty but also that how paying worker a real Living Wage as tangible business benefits. The 1550 accredited Living Wage employers in Scotland that have put over £165 million into workers pockets by choosing to pay more than the minimum wage should be celebrated and their contribution to the campaign to tackle in-work poverty acknowledged.”